Final Video

Storyboard.

Here is our storyboard, it is a brief copy as during filming we lost the original copy.

the benifits of using a storyboard is it gives us a good idea about how we want shots and what we want them to look like while story board i have to think about if the camera angle was possible for us and if the lighting would be correct. we used it during filming briefly but as we were filming we though of new ideas and adapted them to are production and as we went though the filming we realised some shots would look better in different ways .In the origional we put shot duration, sound and lighting and a brief discription of what was happening in the shots.

We had to be efficant with my time as i had to draw alot of shots and at the same time have to make them reconisable for anyone using the storyboard. i obtained the storyboard sheet via mr deVita and used a A3 printed to print it out so i could draw more detail into it also thiswould make things clearer, i used a pencil and pen to draw/write this.

as you can see from the images we have tried to stick to are original idea as closely as we can  here is a comparision of the storyboard vs the video

as you can see we've stuck to the environment shown in the storyboard as before filming we had to go down to the filming location and examine where shots will possibly go. as you can see the charater is wearing the correct clothing as this was decided before the storyboard was created and shadows are drawn in correctly the correct places on connors face

us at the location

Evaluation Question

7.      Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
    Since our preliminary, i believe our group have learnt alot. Things such as using after effects and adding in special effects. We have also learnt about various codes and conventions and how to use mise en scene to fit in with these.  I have learnt alot about why certain colours are used in films e.g red used to show danger, Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, fire, blood, war, violence. I have also learnt how to simply edit clips together using Première Pro.

Evaluation Question

 6.What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

During the process of constructing our product I have learnt various new skills. These include the use of cameras, using editing software and how to use blogging. Most of the filming for the final production was done by Liam, but during various tasks such as the preliminary I have learnt how to effectively use the camera making the most of the different camera angles. I have especially found editing hard because this was completely new to me, but during the process of making I have learnt how to do basic editing such as creating titles with various effects, the screen shot above shows how the titles are edited using after effects.  I have learnt alot of new media terms such as the foli art which i had never heard of before we experimented with it in our final product. I have began to understand the importance of lighting in filming and the differnt ways lighting is used to create different effects and feels towards the audience. I have also learnt how to use blogging to being with if found this difficult but overall I believe I have done well and have kept my blog up to date, showing I have a good understanding of various media terms. 

Evaluation Question

           5. How did you attract/address your audience?

   We attracted our audience by sticking to all the codes and conventions of a general horror. The sound efefcts where added to create extra tension using foli art. We adressed our audience by creating a facebook group to attract more people, and create awarness of StandHardProductions. To show our progression in our filming we have added various wall posts to keep facebook fans up to date. We also have a YouTube account where all our videos and information are posted in order to get feedback from fans.

       Here is a link to our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/home.php?sk=group_139347546114394&ap=1

Here is a link to our YouTube page http://www.youtube.com/user/StandHardProductions
   
 We also shared our opening with the rest of the class and teacher in order to gather feedback.

Evaluation Question

  4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

   The type of audience that would be attracted to our media product would be both males and females between 18-40. The film is mostly set arround adults so adults are most likely to the roles of the actors. The film would be quite violent and gorey so would not be suitable for under 18s. This film would be very jumpy and shocking so would be a good watch at the cinema for younger adults.

Evaluation Question

     3.What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A production company is a company responsible for production of new media. Our production company is called StandHardProductions, this name was chosen because it shows how we planned to go about our work, to work together as a team and stand against problems we encountered. Our logo is just a simple SH within a circle, we chose a basic logo as it is more recognisable for the audience, and easily remembered. As we only have a small group of 4, and being many roles to fill, some members of the group had to take on multiple roles. My role was to be in charge of Mise en Scene and help out with some of the titles. I also did alot of the research into the clothing and titles.The company may also be responsible for funding for the new production.  I think our film would be more likely to get funding from a small distribution company such as film4, this is because our film would be a fairly low budget British film.

Evaluation Question

2.How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our film represents young people and older adults. Our main character Conner (the killer) is an older man who is seeking revenge on an ex partner, his clothes are dark and cover most of his body, he keeps himself covered in order to keep him self unseen, this is a typicall representation of a killer. 

The victim is a younger adult who is represented by the clothes she is wearing and the way she is listening to music which is a typical teenage thing to do.  

Liam (Chav) also represents teens in his body language which is very forward and aggressive. He wears hoodie and jeans along with trainers; this is a typical representation. 

Evaluation Question

     1.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our media product uses, develops and challenges forms and conventions.  The genre of our film is a thriller. The conventions to do with thrillers are often mostly to do with sound and editing. Quick cuts, use of camera angles and lighting, especially the use of shadows, are used in order to create tension and suspense.  In most thrillers we see the story from the killer’s point of view. Our media product uses a mixture of both Extreme close ups to highlight certain objects, e.g. the knife. And Medium and long shots to show more of the setting arround the incident.

Our production is set around night time, so very dim lighting is used; this is a typical convention of the typical thriller genre. The first part of our production is filmed in first person; this is at the same time as the killer is shown getting ready (Hat, Coat, and Weapon). This creates tension to the audience.  The music in our product is slow in order to create tension our titles are kept very simple in order to fit in with the codes and conventions of a typical thriller.

This picture of Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13^th and our character carry similar traits, such as no dialogue which create a more misterious and tense scene.  Jason Voorhees is a masked charecter in order to not show his facial features, the same way our charecter is wearing a hat.  Both charecters wear dark clothes in order to prevent themselfs being seen. Both charecters also have weapons which are intended to kill.

Another  way codes and conventions are challenged is through the costumes of the actors. Conner (killer) is shown above wearing a dark coat along with black trousers and black shoes. The hat is also dark as this covers most of the characters’ facial features, this could have been improved if the hat was also black. The dark clothes are used so the character is disguised in the night. This shows a typical representation of a killer; the dark colours Represent danger , mystery, fear, evil and unhappiness and create a threatening image to the audience.  The victim is shown also wearing dark clothes; she has a red bag as this makes her stand out. The colour red also symbolises danger Excitement, energy, passion, desire, speed, strength, power, aggression, fire, blood, war and violence, so informs the audience that something bad is going to happen from the start.

Unfortunately our group has had some problems with our completed film, and our final edited version was lost due to technical failure. Luckily Connor had backed up our rough cut and we will soon have our completed product.

Connor has been helping Ryan, by teaching him how to edit titles; and from a previous post you can see that he managed to get to grips with it. However,Ryan didnt how to change the comp size to fit our movie; resulting in more work correcting this error. Although, this was an easy job and didn’t require much knowhow. Simply expanding the comp size then re adjusting the text in the titles to fit the new dimensions (as this was a simple task that could get complicated if unfamiliar with the program, I took over).

Once Ryan had finished with the titles I made the main title this was done by gathering inspiration from a videocopilot tutorial I saw and adding my own twist to it. I have taken some screen shots of the processes to go along with a description of what I have done.

One of the first steps in creating the main title was, to create the comp area (ensuring it was the same as the rest of our project). Following this I created the text which was “Relentless Possibility”, the name of our film, this was using the same font as the rest of the titles. Some of the specifications are:

• Font - Chaparral Pro 
• Font size- 190
• Font style- Bold
• Colour- White

Once I have created the text and positioned it how I want it to be laid out, I set some key frames. These key frames can control opacity, position, scale, etc. By setting a key frame at the beginning of time line, it will control what the text looks like at the beginning of the clip. For example, at the beginning of this clip I have a key frame set in opacity, to zero percent; this mean that the text will not appear, until I add a second key frame with a higher percent.

This will mean that the text will gradually increase it's opacity percent until it hits the key frame with the maximum in it. This same technique can be applied to other fields such as scale, this means you can create the illusion of the text coming towards you.

Once I have the text lined up, the hand made effect perfected and the length of the clip corrected, I can start adding some cool effects. To do this I downloaded the evolution pack from videocopilot. Videocopilot is an online group that record and produce special FX for purchase; using these I added some vines that will appear as though they are growing out of the title.

Once I completed the title, I exported it as a .mov file (quick time movie) I used this format instead of a .wmv (windows Media Video) as I am using a apple Macintosh to edit my clips.

Codes and Conventions of Horror.

This type of genre strives to educe fear and apprehension from their viewers by colliding supernatural into reality situations. Everything a normal society values is systematically destroyed throughout the film. It often can be completely paranormal without any reality whatsoever and are based on classic literature of the gothic/horror genre. They can also incorporate elements of other genres such as science fiction (sci-fi), fantasy, black comedies or thriller. Modernized horrors usually contain graphic violence or bloody gore. Horror films differentiate due to the years and so it is much harder to compare or group them largely and so contrasts between them become very clear.


  o Preliminary introduction into ordinary lifestyleo Type of bizarre murder/death – killer maybe known or unknowno Credits follow horror theme – creepy font, title movement, image eg pumpkin, weapon, etc
o Main characters introduced – young/ youthful
o Teenage kids – easy target also vulnerable – home alone
o Teenagers usually a couple – football jock boyfriend and cheerleader blonde bimbo girlfriend.
o Mysterious phone calls – dubbed sinister voice “Who’s There…?”
o Family ties broken
o Sisters killed by brothers e.g: Halloweeno Sometimes unsuccessful acts of heroism
o Victim unprotected
o Superhuman killer – doesn’t die successfully = sequels
-Source; http://smay-fuller-suttonmediaas.blogspot.com/2008/12/codes-and-conventions-of-horror-film.html

Foley art

Liam, Scott and Connor set about recording some sound effects for our media piece “Relentless Possibility”; we researched into Foley art, a technique used by film industries to add sound effects. We found a video onlineshowing sound technicians for a popular video game, recording sound effects and then demonstrating how they use them.

This video gave us a lot of inspiration for our video’s audio. We arranged a date where we would go round to Scotts house to record our vegetable genocide; Liam and Connor went to town to collect equipment and fruit and veg, we considered health and safety by buying some overalls, glasses and some other protective clothing. They did this while me and Ryan continued with editing and Research. They also bought some Tarpaulin, Duck Tape, Bamboo, Tights, Hair Gel, CDs, a Hammer and lots of Fruit and Veg. 

Connor and Liam constructed a Pop Shield out of some tights stretched over and embroidery ring, this was to help reduce any hiss sounds the microphone may pick up, it also protects it from any foreign projectiles (banana juice/goo) once made these we duck taped them on to some bamboo and tapped that to the tripod, positioning it in front of the microphone. They then started on destroying some fruit, setting up a stand made out of cardboard and wooden beams, using our array of tools to dismembered the fruit; recording the result with Scotts audio equipment and Liam’s D90 for visual. Once Liam and Connor returned we listened to the results, find some things worked really well and others were a dismal.

Scott and Connor went over the recordings at a latter date to compose them to fit our film segments; we did this using Cubase sound recording and editing software we layered the sounds up on top of each other to create a stabbing sound. Once we created the ideal sound we exported it and Scott uploaded it to soundcloud for us to download and use when we needed it.

It was then a simple case of downloading it and adding it to our media film, this combined with the editing has helped tointensify the genera of our film. 

Filming went pretty smoothly, with no problems really arising allowing us to flow through it quickly. It was done over the course of about 3-4 Weeks taking place at around 7/8-10+ O'Clock. The issue we have noticed though is that we haven't included an estalbishing shot. However, this will only take a quick session to get completed so it's no real problem. We plan to get this done ASAP, maybe even later on today (25/03/11).



Filming Location (In day light)

 In our rough cut which we have put together, we've noticed an issue with one of the shots. Unfortunatly, in one of the shots of Heather (Dead character), you can see her take a breath. It's only minor and not too noticeable, however it is an annoyance. We don't have time to correct this now so we've got to stick with it.

Over the course of our filming, we encounted that things were different to how we had planned they would go. Whilst it still went fine, it was challenging. We experimented with many different shots and, in the end, changed quite a few of the shots on our storyboard.

We had to improvise for some of the shots, at some point Liam had to lay down and shoot without the tripod to get the right angle which the tripod wouldn't allow. Quite a few shots were challenging, for example, the panning was more difficult than we thought, when I had to pan both right and down, trying to keep the pace of the character whilst also framing another thing of interest in the shot.

Also, the cameras metering system could not be controlled manual whilst filming, so we experienced some lighting problems. In one of the shots, where the car is started, when the headlights come on the camera auto-adjusts to meter for the bright point of light, which darkened everything else in the shot. Thankfully, however, it wasn't really a problem because we felt that the effect was pretty cool and suited the dark, sinister feel of the film. Another issue with the camera, was that in some shots there appears to be large black bars scrolling down across the shot. We think was due to metering issues aswell, and unfortutantly, we can't fix it now.

We did try to pre-plan the lighting, where Liam, Connor and Scott made a visit to olympus house (Where we filmed) to check out the lighting and to find out, based on the lighting, how we would shoot. The large flood light above the main entrance to the building provided excelent lighting which was very helpful. However, it did turn off sometimes and since we had no control of this we had to pause/cancel filming sometimes.



Running through the storyboard with the DV



We filming using my own Nikon D90 camera but one of the shots we using an iPod. The advantage of using my camera over the DV Cameras provided by the school was that we could film in higher quality and resolution. Also, the ability to change lenses helped. For most of it, we used a 50mm Prime F/1.8 lenses; this allowed us to take good advantage of focus and depth of field. However, the D90, is a photographic camera mainly, with just the side option to record, so unfortuatnly the settings were limited in video mode. Liam filmed on the standard video mode with the ISO set to 400-600.

Since none of us hold a lisence yet to drive, in the shot where we had to car speeding off we had to use a 'stunt double'. We filmed Connor (Protanganist) climbing into the car, then switched the shot to a different angle where we switched him with his Dad (The 'stunt double'). This allowed us to film the shot of the car speeding off.

The filmimg has now all been completed, and was very succesfull. Connor and Liam have been making sound effects using fuit and vegtables, These will be added into our opening to create better sound effects.
Me and ryan have been working on the effects for the titles which are going to be quite basic, so it doesnt take attention away from the opening.
We have now began revising for the exams.

Our filming did not take place on the date we had intended to start, this is due to actors not being able to make it, All our filming took place over arround 4 weeks and was filmed at night between the hours of 6-10pm. Becaue of health and safety we had to had a adult avaliable to drive the car, this was Connors dad, who was present at all filming.
I beleive the filming has gone well overall, the lighting is good and the continuity is mostly corect. Final touches are now being added to the film, e.g. slight continuity errors. The sound is good, but we are aware that some slight changes are needed to be done for example, on the ipod scene the sound of the ipod hitting the floor is slighty to loud. I think that our film has some very good points. e.g. some of the close up shots like of the boot, and the girl crying. These are here to create more emotion and to make the audince feel more involved.
Here is the rough cut of our film, shown below:

Helpline

Yesterday me and ryan painted a board white and wrote helpline and a number so if anyone has any quiries the day we are filming they can call this helpline. We are planning to film this Sunday as last week some of our group were not able to make it for filming. On the day of filming Connor and Sophie will come to my house to arrange the costumes for the day, this way we can assure everything looks right ready for filming.

Group Meeting

Today we had a quick group meeting to dicuss what plans we had made for filming. We have planned to film this weekend at arround 5pm. On the saturday night liam and connor will go down to the set and test the lighting so it is ready for sunday. In the daytime on sunday we will test the costumes out for fit. Today Liam and Connor have gone for a meeting with the police to dicuss the use of weapons on set.


This is our Facebook group, we set this up to firstly draw in people to our productions however, it is also so that we can do some research into our target audience. we can post links to our blogs, our YouTube account and keep people up to date with our production; we also can ask people who follow our group questions such as what films do you like, where do you watch them and many more. we have been able to gather so much information about our target audience due to this group. 

we are also going to use this in our evaluation, asking people to post reviews and score our final video.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/home.php?sk=group_139347546114394&ap=1

This type of genre strives to educe fear and apprehension from their viewers by colliding supernatural into reality situations. Everything a normal society values is systematically destroyed throughout the film. It often can be completely paranormal without any reality whatsoever and are based on classic literature of the gothic/horror genre. They can also incorporate elements of other genres such as science fiction (sci-fi), fantasy, black comedies or thriller. Modernized horrors usually contain graphic violence or bloody gore. Horror films differentiate due to the years and so it is much harder to compare or group them largely and so contrasts between them become very clear.

o Preliminary introduction into ordinary lifestyleo Type of bizarre murder/death – killer maybe known or unknown
o Credits follow horror theme – creepy font, title movement, image eg pumpkin, weapon, etc
o Main characters introduced – young/ youthful
o Teenage kids – easy target also vulnerable – home alone
o Teenagers usually a couple – football jock boyfriend and cheerleader blonde bimbo girlfriend.
o Mysterious phone calls – dubbed sinister voice “Who’s There…?”o Family ties broken
o Sisters killed by brothers e.g: Halloween
o Sometimes unsuccessful acts of heroism
o Victim unprotected
o Superhuman killer – doesn’t die successfully = sequels

-Source; http://smay-fuller-suttonmediaas.blogspot.com/2008/12/codes-and-conventions-of-horror-film.html

Meeting

Today, myself, Connor and Liam had a short meeting with Mr Davita to discuss the production of our Opening scene. All our basic planning is complete and we are up to date. We now just need to plan the dates of filming, carry on with research. We will need to take notice of the weather when planing dates for filming as it tends to change alot during this time of the year and it could mess up continuity.

Health and Safety

we have had to consider our heath and safety for our project, this because we are using realistic weapons in a public place. we have considered members of the public being scared or worried about the goings on in our horror (e.g. the kill scene). to combat this problem we will have a member of crew,l wearing a high visibility jacket with a dedicated phone line on the back (a mobile number, where they can call for a brief description of what we are doing); along with that the in tire crew will be wearing a high visibility jackets that say crew on the back. we will also ask Scott if he will over see our shooting as a responsible adult. we may also consider having a trained first aider on set.

we have also got in contact with the local police dept. and are awaiting for a response to our phone call to set up a recorded meeting to explain our project and our intentions. we have also written a letter to inform them of our goings on. this is shown below

9^th December 2010

To Whom It May Concern

I am writing to inform you that we will be shooting a horror film sequence for our AS Media Studies Project.  This will include the use of realistic looking weapons (e.g. knife). This will be shot around dusk/ night near Olympus house. We will inform you of the dates nearer the time of shooting this. We will also inform Olympus House of these events.

This is part of our Media Studies course and it involves filming an opening scene for our chosen genre. We have selected the Horror genre. We have planned out our script and costumes for this over the last few weeks. All members of our group will be wearing high visibility jackets during filming.  Group members include: Connor Page, Francesca Williams, Ryan Newson and Liam Oliver. Also Sophie Stokes will be involved as an actress on this day.

We will have a dedicated help line displayed around the set where any member of the public can call to be informed of the current events in place.  A risk assessment will be carried out prior filming.  We kindly request your Consent to these events; if you have any queries please contact Connor Page on  07807 070458 or contact Roberto DeVita at Ken Stimpson Community School.

Yours sincerely

StandHardProductions                      R De Vita

                                            Media Studies Teacher (KSCS)

Analysis

MISE EN SCÉNEMise en Scéne is a French term meaning what is put into the scene or frame. What is put in or left out can make a big difference to the signals we, the audience, receive about what sort of film it is and how we are supposed to feel at this point.

A simple shot of a tree can be made to look threatening by stripping it of leaves, adding a vulture and some lightening and shooting it in darkness. The same tree can be given a very different look by having children playing beneath its sunlit branches. As an experienced film audience we are able to read these hidden signals of lighting, colour, props and characters and add these to our understanding of what will happen in the film.

In this way, the elements of mise en scéne are an indicator as to the genre (type) of film we are watching. We have certain expectations of the mise en scéne in different genres of films; e.g. Horror; Dark, creepy, evil.
Comedy; Bright, colourful, lively.

The elements to consider in the mise en scéne are:
a) settings & props
b) costume, hair & make-up
c) facial expressions & body language
d) lighting & colour
e) position ing of characters & objects within a frame

Heres a brief look at each of these in turn;SETTINGS & PROPS

SETTINGS:
The settings used in a film are very rarely just backgrounds to the characters' dialogue and indeed we will often see shots of places without any action taking place. In this way the setting of a film is far more significant than the setting of a theatre and is almost always infinitely more detailed. Filmmakers can choose to build a setting from scratch using the bare walls and floor of a studio set; alternatively, a great deal of time and effort is put in by a location manager in the initial stages of making a fil;m to find a setting which already exists. Invariably this location will then be altered further to reflect exactly what the filmmaker wants to convery.

Settings can be used to manipulate an audience by building certain expectations and then the action takes a different turn, for instance, a tale of horror set against the familiar background of modern everyday urban life is showhow more disturbing than one set a century ago in a house in the wooods. This can be particularaly effective if the setting goes against what we would expect from this genre of film.PROPS:
Props is the term we give to objects in the setting which play a part in the action, rather than just being part of the background, for example, the glass containing the poisioned wine.
COSTUME, HAIR & MAKEUP

COSTUME:
Costume plays a large part in the mise en scéne because it can be an instant indicator to us of a character's personality, social status and job. It tells us immediately whether the film is set in the present and what society and/or culture it will centre around. It may also provide a clue as to the part of the caracter will play in the action. Certain types of costume are identified closely with indicidual genres, for instance, the black cloak of the vampire with a horror film.MAKE UP:
In the early days of cinema, make-up was used to highlight facial features as black and white film stock could not register detail very well. Certain genres traditionally use make-up more than others.LIGHTING & COLOURLIGHTING:Lighting can aim to give a particular scene a very realistic look or to bring out the dramatic nature of it and we associate these different lighting styles with different genres. It can be used to achieve a variety of a effects, for example;

• To highlight important characters or objects within the frame by drawing our attention towards them with a bright light source.
• To make a  character look mysterious by shading sections of the face/body.
• To reflect a character's confused state of mind may be suggested by alternating bright and dark light quickly as in a strobe effect.

COLOUR:
The connotations that colour carries with it are an important influence as to the mood of a scene. We tend to associate certain colours with certain genres particularly with reference to film posters and publicity materials which rely on the public quickly being able to identify with a film even from a distance.
POSITIONING OF CHARACTERS & OBJECTS WITHIN A FRAME
There are various ways in which the filmmaker can use positioning within the frame. For instance;

• If the filmmaker chooses to position a character or an object in the foreground of the shot we know that we, as an audience, should attach importance to this character or object; the mise en scéne is being used to direct our attention towards them. Likewise, we recognise that background events have less significance at this particular point in the narrative.
• A moving body or object placed against a stationary background will immediately draw our attention as it would in real life.
• If characters or objects are positioned evenly within the frame this will give a balanced feel ot the shot. If all the figures are at one end of the frame for example, this will create an imbalance for the eye by making the shot feel heavy on one side. These different types of spacing within the shot can be used to make the audience feel settled or unsettled, thus involving them in the action.
• If the positioning of figures and objects draws our atttention to the diagonal lines of the frame, this will help to inbalance the eye, especially if the lines of the background follow horizontal and vertical planes. This can be used to make the audience feel uncomfortable about the action that is taking place.
• The filmmaker can use positioning to indicate relationships between people, for example, if lovers are having an argument they will often be placed at the outside edges of the grame so there is a lot of physical distance between them to reflect the emotional distance they are experiencing at this point.